Landord not fixing Boiler (electric/immersion)

al1180

Hi - I wonder if anyone can help me!

I moved into a rented private flat in February this year. Really liked the place and a few small repairs that i requested doing before i moved in were all completed no problems and all was good.

Two weeks after moveing in my boiler broke down (elecric immersion style heating with a big water tank). The heating in my flat is electric so no problem there.

The first engineer came round to fix it and said that he could only fix the *Boost* part of the circuit - getting the parts needed to fix the boiler fully would be on a par with a new boiler so he said he needed to go back to the landord to see as all he had been asked to do was ensure there was hot water.
So i can only get hot water after switching on the boost system and waiting an hour, and even then there is only enough for one quick lukewarm shower. (there is a race to get in first every morning!)
In the process of calling to find out what was going on - the boost stopped working and we were back to no hot water, amd a new engineer came round and said the same thing (this one recommended a new boiler was the only answer - the only other alternative woul be to have the Boost running full time or rigging it to a timer (!?) which would send our bills through the roof).

A week later an engineer came from a third company to take a look at fixing the boielr properly, and also had the same diagnosis - and that the repairs were likely t be expensive.

Since then the landlord (not so much the managning agent - they if anything seem understanding) is really draggin their feet and has left us again with just a boost system. Its a real pain, i wokr 12 - 14 hr days so i'm def looking at moving out to somewhere else when my lease finishes.

Everytime i bring it up/write/email to complain i am now getting quite bizarre responses - suggested that i go to his mates on the other side of london to have a look as he has the same type of boiler, being told that all three of the engineers had got it wrong (the managing agent backed me up on this)...

My using the boost system i do have limited (and very expensive) hot water (one showers worth). My electricity usage has gone up considerably (based off the first month - which i had two weeks noram working, one week broken and one week Boost Only).

Sorry for the long explainatation! Is there anything i can do ? I feel i'm being taken for a ride paying full rent for a flat with a faulty boiler (its been SIX MONTHS now since it broke), limited supply when i use it (not to mention the early mornings - and i get up early enough as it is!), and a more expensive bill on top!

I really like the flat - so i just want to get it sorted

Jowo_2

The Shelter website has an excellent section on how tenants can undertake repairs and withold the repair costs from the rent. It is a process that has to be properly followed and they give the steps.

Alternatively, speak to your local council private tenancy relations officer to see if its the kind of repair that warrants a health and safety inspection where they can compel the landlord to complete the repair.

Of course, both paths carry the risk that you annoy the landlord who may not renew the tenancy when its due to end.

Jowo_2

And ask your landlord for compensation - rent rebate/refund - for the extra expense.

princeofpounds

Shame it took you so long to investigate your options. People don't tend to know their rights when they rent and it means rubbish landlords get away with a lot more than they should.

Your landlord is lucky in one respect. Because you at least have a source of hot water he isn't committing a criminal offence (which it is if he deprives you of all sources of hot water or heating).

You have two options. You can contact the council environmental health team. They can come out and do an assessment and if necessary issue a repairing notice against the landlord that is legally binding. They would certainly be interested if there was no hot water at all, I'm not sure they would be so useful in this circumstance.

More to the point, you can invoke the legal right to repair enshrined in case law (Lee Parker vs Izzet 1971). Shelter give you a breakdown of the procedure you MUST follow. Keep all documentation, and a letter to the landlord pointing out you will take matters into your own hands will probably get a boiler replacement.

Be assertive and don't let them fob you off - it's ridiculous to go so long and they should be glad you aren't claiming for compensation for the raised bills.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions

One caveat - the LL can decide to evict you (in accordance with law) if you do anything he doesn't like, but in that case I'd want to be out of there anyway and not lining his pockets.

al1180

Thanks for the responses - that Shelter website is very useful!

Regarding the raised bills - i worked it out for the time after we first reported the problem to when the only option to heat water was to run the boost circuit for an hour in the morning, and the elecricity usage cost us about £100 more than what it woudl be if we had a fully functioning boiler (years ago i had problems in another flat with the electrics so always check meter readings/rate of use after repairs - in fact the high consumption was one of the problems i first mentioned to the landlord - on advice of the second engineer). I have meter readings took weekly, an note from the electricity people saying what they expected the typical usage to be and that mine was way over, and a note from the engineer agreeing that the boiler was the cause. Do you guys think i shoudl try and ask for a something toward that from the landlord/managing agent?
It is something they were aware of (i have it in email) and it feels a bit unfair i should be paying the excess caused by a faulty appliance?

Main thing is to get a working boiler though! i tied putting all blankets and pillows etc around the thing in the cupboard to improve the insulation so that if i put the boost on for an hour before bed there may be enough for a decent shower (or at least a quick shower each!) - but no, as always its about 5 min of lukewarm water for the *lucky* first one in

At this stage i just want it fixed, even if it means we will have to move out (contract expires in Dec). I have a beak clause in the contract which i guess i could use to move out early- but as i said apart from this problem i do really like the flat.

Is it unreasonable to ask for a reduction in rent or something until i have it fixed? or do you think that will just make them less likely to bother fixing it?

I feel bad for the next persone who moves in - if its not sorted they will be stuck with either very high bills or limited hot water...

The latest is they want to send round a guy from a 4th (!) company to get a new opinion, and still want me to go see their mate on the other side of london to see his boiler (??) and have asked i speak to my neighbors (i have done this - they have the same boiler and is one of the examples i use to when trying to work out my expected elec usage...)

SOrry if this just comes accrss as ranting, buts getting very frustrating and i'm getting worried that it will end up me just lumbered with a costly power bill and having to flat hung again...

princeofpounds

Should you ask for compensation? Probably yes. Will you get it? Hard to say. It's difficult to enforce such things as you would need to go to the small claims court, demonstrate your loss and their negligence in getting things fixed and get a ruling in your favour. It's not that hard to do the SCC but it's quite a lot of hassle.

But as you say, getting the boiler fixed is a priority and you can certainly concentrate on that.

Don't waste any more time with their games about going anywhere else. Just get on with the process and get it sorted (although don't block their attempts to get it fixed in the meantime, even if it is annoying to let another repairman in).

Write a letter.

State, very briefly, the facts so far (I hope your previous complaints have been in writing anyway? Evidence is important and if you have a documented complaint then you can skip to phase 2 of the process and start initiating work).

Make it clear that the continual delays are unacceptable and it is their responsibility to fix (quote the Housing Act), not yours to travel across town.

State that you are losing money as a result.

State that as it has already been an unreasonable length of time you are going to arrange repairs and offset against rent under the procedure established in Lee-Parker vs. Izzet (1971).

Provide them with three quotes you have obtained, and notify them of which future rental periods you intend to make deductions from (give them a whole rental period to get ready).

State that unless matters are resolved you will be executing the work on a given deadline (10 days is probably reasonable as it has dragged so long already)

Send the letter, preferably recorded delivery.

Wait for results, if no results get on with it - follow the shelter procedure (my points above are only a rough approximation).

Seriously, if you don't assert yourself they are just going to keep dragging.